New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Delhi Police for the delay in the identification of policemen who had thrashed and pressurized Muslim youths to sing the national anthem during violence in the North-East region of the district.
A bench of Justice Mukta Gupta has also asked the Delhi Police to check the records of deployment of police personnel on the day of the incident. The next hearing of the case will be on February 22.
During the hearing, the investigating officer said that thousands of policemen were deployed during the violence in Delhi.
The investigating officer has identified a constable Ravindra on whose mobile the video was found. Ravindra was questioned several times, but he refused to shoot the video thus the video has been sent to the forensic lab and the video has been sent to every police station in Delhi, but no clue has been found.
Delhi Police had said that four videos were shot, out of which three videos were shot from a low pixel mobile camera that too from a remote location while the fourth video showcases the policemen beating Muslim youths. In the fourth video, policemen were wearing helmets thus they cannot be identified.
Delhi Police had said that all four video clips have been sent to the forensic lab so that their video quality can be improved.
Vrinda Grover, counsel for the petitioner, has alleged that the police have not preserved the CCTV footage and records of Jyoti Nagar police station but the investigating officer said that the CCTV cameras of Jyoti Nagar police station were not working on February 24 due to technical glitches.
Delhi Police had said that 170 policemen who were handling law and order duty in North-East Delhi on 24 February 2020 have been questioned to investigate the matter.
The Station House Officer (SHO) who posted at Jyoti Nagar police station on February 24& 25 and the policemen looking after the law and order situation were also questioned. The sub-inspector appointed to look after the dead youth Faizan and twenty other youths was also questioned.
Delhi Police said that no eyewitness has come forward in this regard so far. The status report states that some photographs have been taken out of the video clip and sent to all the district police and in-charges of other forces, apart from private experts for identification.
Meanwhile, a video titled Jana Gana Mana has gone viral on social media, in which five youths are lying helplessly on the ground while the policemen are beating them up and pressuring them to sing Jana Gana Mana.
Earlier, a youth named Faizan was arrested by the police on 24 February 2020 and was released the next day in a very critical condition. He was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) where he died on 26 February 2020.
The petition states that on the intervening night of 25-26 February, Faizan had told his mother Kismatun that he was tortured by the police and that he was severely beaten up.
The petition states that Faizan was kept in illegal custody at Jyoti Nagar police station and was denied treatment. When his condition started deteriorating and the police felt that he would not be able to escape, he was released. It has been said in the petition that a case of murder was registered in this case, but efforts are being made to save the policemen in the investigation.
The petition demands that the investigation of this matter should be done under the supervision of the court. For this, an independent and impartial team should be constituted to investigate Faizan's custodial death and guidelines should be issued to file the report of this investigation from time to time in the court.
Also Read: Verdict reserved on Sharjeel Imam bail plea in Delhi violence case
